Get your loved one home tonight

If your loved one got arrested, you probably feel a lot of anxiety because they are screwed and there's nothing you can do to help them.

But the good news is you can help your loved one get out of jail by helping them get a bond for their release. A bond is the amount of money set by a judge for releasing a defendant from jail before their trial. This is to ensure that they show up to court or they forfeit this amount.

There are three ways to satisfy this bond amount

Personal bond

For people with little to no criminal history you may qualify for a personal bond, which is how to get out of jail sooner by promising to the court you will show up for all your court dates and follow all conditions set by a judge.

Only Pretrial Services or an Attorney may submit a request for release on personal bond to a judge. And only a judge can approve release on a personal bond. Without a lawyer, this process can take up to 2 days or never. With a lawyer, we speed this process up to a matter of hours. It's because we can go talk directly to the judge and present the personal bond to them any day of the week, any time of day.

Bond insurance

The insurance company will require you to sign over your land and property to them in case you don't show up to court because they will have to pay your full bond amount.

This typically costs between $500-1000 for common charges like DWI or Family Violence.

You never get this money back.

Pay it in full

You always have the option to pay the full bond amount in person at the front desk of the jail by cash or money order. When their case is completely over, the money will be returned to them, regardless of who paid it.

Timeline after Arrest

The journey from being arrested to freedom

Marco gets pulled over by a police officer for a minor traffic offense. During the stop, the police officer thinks Marco has had one too many beers. The officer proceeds to arrest Marco for drunk driving.
The officer transports Marco to the downtown jail. He's taken to Central Booking where he waits to get his mugshot and fingerprints taken. The officer turns in his police report. Marco's police report is printed in a stack with all the other police reports for arrests that night. The judge reviews the police reports in the order it was turned in. The judge can take up to 24 hours to review the police report after it is turned in.
Afterwards, Marco can use the jail phone to call a lawyer, family member, or a friend. He can pull up to 3 numbers from his cell phone but he has to use the jail phone to call. The jail phone makes collect calls only, so whoever Marco is calling has to pay a fee to talk to him.
Marco changes into an orange jumpsuit and is transferred to a jail cell.
Pretrial Services will now begin to process Marco.

Marco is now a number in the Austin court system.

One of the Pretrial Services staff will go to the jail to interview him. They will ask him where he lives, where he works, and who his family and friends are.

Things to keep in mind - Pretrial Services is the court office that is in charge of interviewing Marco and recommending to the judge whether to release Marco or hold him there.
When the staff member returns to her office, she will call Marco's references to verify them and also run a criminal history check on him. If Marco doesn't have a stable home or job, the staff member will deny his release. If Marco has any prior criminal history or bond forfeitures, the staff member will also deny his release.
The judge picks up Marco's police report and reviews it, approving it for probable cause.
Marco is pulled from his jail cell to attend a magistration hearing with a group of the other people who were arrested last night. The judge will read Marco his rights and the charges brought against him and set a bond amount.
If Pretrial Services doesn't deny Marco release, the judge will sign a personal bond for him.
Marco is released and walks out the front lobby of the jail.
If Marco didn't get released already, he would be transferred to Travis County Correctional Complex in Del Valle (by the airport).
4 Weeks later...

Marco is transported to court for his first court date.

Marco gets pulled over by a police officer for a broken tail light. During the stop, the police officer thinks Marco has had one too many beers. The officer proceeds to arrest Marco for drunk driving.
The officer transports Marco to the downtown jail. He's taken to Central Booking where he waits to get his mugshot and fingerprints taken. The officer turns in his police report. The report is printed and thrown in a stack with all the other police reports for people who got arrested that night. The judge reviews the police reports in the order it was turned in. The judge can take up to 24 hours to review the police report after it is turned in.
Afterwards, Marco can use the jail phone to call his family or friend to find a lawyer to help him get out as soon as possible. The guard gives Marco his cell phone back to look up three people who he wants to call and to write their numbers down. He jots down his mom's number, his brother's number, and his girlfriend's number. Marco calls his mom first. Marco asks his mom to help him find a lawyer to help get him out.
Marco's family calls Tony. Tony explains to his family the different criteria that the judge weighs in determining whether to release Marco or not. Tony goes through each criteria with them and gives them his opinion on the likelihood of him getting out. Marco's family hires Tony to go visit the jail to get Marco out.
Tony visits Marco in jail and to let him know that everything will be okay. Tony then goes to Pretrial Services to pick up Marco's paperwork. Tony reviews Marco's criminal history to see if he has any previous bond forfeitures, which is a big factor for the judge to grant Marco's release. Next, Tony reviews Marco's police report to see if there were any inconsistencies with Marco's version of the story. There are always two sides to a story, and the lawyer is in charge of making sure the judge hears Marco's side too.
Tony goes to meet with a 24/7 judge. Tony has worked with most of them before and is known for his reputation amongst the judges for his honesty and integrity. Tony greets the judge and asks her how her day was. He then proceeds to explain to her a little bit about Marco's background and that his family hired him to represent Marco. Tony then explains what happened to get Marco arrested, and humanizes Marco based on Marco's version of what happened. The goal here is to make Marco look like a good person who had good intentions. The judge then reviews the police report with Tony, and weighs the facts with Marco's version of the story. Finally, the judge reviews Marco's criminal history and any pending cases, and asks Tony if Marco's family hired him to represent him on the case. Tony says yes. The judge feels confident that if Marco was responsible enough to hire a lawyer to represent him, he is responsible enough to show up to court. The judge signs the personal bond for Marco's release. Tony also asks the judge to waive magistration so Marco can be released faster. The judge agrees and Tony waives magistratation. Marco will now be released in 2-4 hours.
Marco is released and meets his family outside. If Marco's family is not there, Tony will call him a cab to take him back home.

Phones Answered 24/7

- Call Now - 512-888-JAIL